LISA Heyes is in the form of her life and hopes to top two recently won England vests for a British international call-up.

The 31-year-old Salford Harrier, in action at the opening Reebok Cross Challenge event in Liverpool on Saturday has designs on competing for Britain at the Ekiden Relays in Japan.

If not, she's off to Spain with her clubmates to take part in the Benidorm half marathon. Heyes, a theatre assistant at Wigan Infirmary, represented England at the World Mountain Trophy in Austria last month.

A few weeks later she was called up again, this time for the Swansea Bay IOK road race.

The fastest leg at the North of England Relay Championships and a victory in the South East Lancashire cross country league means Heyes has become the woman to beat.

Eye catching

And an eye catching performance at next weekend's National Relays in Sutton Coldfield could clinch a trip to the Far East."They haven't announced the team yet but I'd like to think I've got a chance," said the former Wigan Phoenix stalwart.

"You never know what's going to happen though. I think the Ekiden clashes with the European Championship cross country trials so the selectors might want to see who is running there first.

"Even though I run on the fells and also do cross country, I think I prefer to race on the roads.

"I knocked 20 seconds off my best time for 10K at Swansea even though I'd only just got over a chest infection.

"I think 5K and IOK are my best distances though I may look at doing a marathon next year.

"You tend to move up the distances as you get older. If I don't go to Japan then I'll go to Benidorm with the club."